


A Thorough Debriefing

by loathlylady



Category: Dragon Blood - Lindsay Buroker
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 00:38:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4983106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loathlylady/pseuds/loathlylady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Contains spoilers for <i>Under the Ice Blades</i>.</p><p>After Kaika returns following a mission that had kept her away for several weeks, Angulus debriefs her in every possible definition of the word.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Thorough Debriefing

**Author's Note:**

> I was made to do this by the bad influence of my peers.

Angulus absently reached for his cup of coffee, not looking up from the documents he was perusing. Earlier, he had met with his advisors regarding several pressing issues, and then they had left him to study the documents they brought with them. He was three-quarters of the way through the stack, and felt coffee was necessary to reach the bottom.

The sip he took was cold and bitter, the cup having sat long enough for the sugar to settle to the bottom and for any vestige of warmth to disappear. He made a face and raised his head, feeling the strain in his neck and shoulders from having hunched over his desk for—he glanced the clock on the wall—many hours. It was past noon. 

He picked up the coffeepot, standing on a tray at the one corner of his desk not covered in papers, and attempted to freshen his cup with hot coffee. Alas, nothing appeared from the spout, not even when he tipped the thing nearly upside down in forlorn hope. The gods only knew how many times he had filled his cup while reading without noticing.

Angulus sighed and stared at the pot. Betrayed. By a good friend of many years.

A knock sounded at the door, and the guard posted inside his office glanced at him. 

“Answer it,” he said, setting the coffeepot back on the tray while the young man cracked the door open and conferred with the guard on the other side. The guard closed the door again and came to stand at respectful attention in front of Angulus’s desk until acknowledged.

“Your lunch has arrived, Sire,” the guard said. His face went carefully blank. “Captain Kaika has also arrived for her debriefing.”

A delighted grin burst over Angulus’s face, and the tension that had tightened his shoulders disappeared. He had not seen her for several weeks, as she had been on a mission away from the capital. Despite his excitement at the knowledge that she likely waited just on the other side of the door, he tamped down his grin and attempted a serious expression. Somewhere he had gathered the impression that kings weren’t supposed to grin like schoolboys around their guards, even if Kaika had become the most frequently debriefed officer in the entire Iskandian army over the past six months. Generally in every sense of the word.

Angulus cleared his throat vigorously to avoid the grin that thought inspired.

“Send her in, please. Did Chef send enough for two people, by any chance? I believe the captain will be joining me for lunch.”

“I’ll have another meal sent up from the kitchen, Sire. Will you be needing a fresh pot of coffee?”

“No, thank you. That won’t be necessary. I no longer feel in need of it.” He held up a finger as the guard turned to go. “Could you see that Chef sends up some dragon horn cookies with the second meal?”

“Yes, Sire.” The guard’s expression was resigned as he left. None of the guards were great fans of Kaika after the picnic dinner on the hangar roof, nor had the tendency for her visits to mean the guards would be on the other side of a locked door from their king for hours done anything to endear her to them.

Angulus rose from his desk, not wanting it between him and Kaika when she entered the room. The guards would just have to get used to her—he had no inclination for her to disappear from his life any time soon.

Kaika entered the room ahead of the guard captain, who took the other guard’s place beside the open door. Angulus didn’t take time to twitch an eyebrow at the open door or Captain Hikkon, as his focus was on drinking in her appearance, looking for signs that she was well and hadn’t come to harm while she was out of his sight.

She came to a stop on the carpet in front of him, lifting her hand in a lazy salute and lowering her eyelid in a lazier wink. Her smile matched, slow and sultry and knowing. 

He cleared his throat before speaking, hoping to avoid any hoarseness while they weren’t alone.

“Captain,” he said tersely, “you’re looking well.”

“Happy to be home, Sire,” she replied, her smile widening. Warmth bloomed in his chest.

“As happy as others are made by your return, I’m sure.”

“My CO certainly was happy to see me, Sire.” For the first time, he realized she was carrying a slim folder under one arm, and he only noticed because she tapped it for emphasis as she said, “He sent me to share some information with you, if you’re free to discuss it at the moment.” She subtly moved her head toward the guard standing inside the door.

“Hikkon, give us twenty minutes,” Angulus said, not looking away from Kaika’s face. She wrinkled her nose at the time he allotted them, so he amended it. “An hour?”

Kaika smiled, eyes flitting up and down his body before they fixed on his mouth, and Angulus looked away quickly before another schoolboy expression could take over his face.

“An hour, Hikkon,” he said firmly, making eye contact with the guard captain. His expression was as stodgy as an overboiled pudding, crimped walnut half for a mouth and peevish raisins for eyes.

“Very well, Sire,” Captain Hikkon replied. “Your lunch?”

“Have it set up in the parlor, please. And close the door behind you, Captain.”

“Yes, Sire.” Hikkon’s mouth pinched further in disapproval, but he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Instead of running straight into his arms as he had hoped she would once they were alone, Kaika handed him the folder and went to the door. He opened the folder as he heard the lock snick. Well, no reason to stop eager expressions now—except perhaps for the contents of the folder.

“This folder is empty,” he said as she returned to him.

“I know.” She grabbed the folder and flung it over her shoulder. Her arms slid around his waist, and she leaned into him, grinning upwards. “Haven’t you ever heard of plausible deniability?”

He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her closer. “Not generally in this context.”

“As far as your guards know, we’re in here discussing top-secret information.” She sighed happily and relaxed into him, laying her head on his shoulder. Any remaining tension that might have been in him disappeared. She was back.

“I’m sure they know that’s not what we do when the door is locked,” he said drily. 

“As if we ever do much more than that in your office,” she murmured. “The only thing we’ve outraged is that couch, and you had that moved.”

“A king isn’t supposed to salute anyone, let alone in the way memories of what we did on that couch led me to. I had to move it out of a sense of self preservation.” 

Kaika snorted. “I’ll be flattered, then. You salute me regularly.”

“Ha.” He lowered his face to her hair and inhaled. She had recently washed, and she smelled of whatever soap it was she used. It wasn’t the military-issued one, but something that smelled like spices. Cinnamon, maybe. Nutmeg. Fitting for the sweet tooth she had. “When did you get back?”

“Early. Just as the sun rose. You know how secret operatives love the cover of darkness. The last fifty miles were by horse and wagon, delivering produce to the capital. Very stealthy.” She yawned and snuggled her cheek into his shoulder.

“Have you slept at all?” He gazed down at her, catching only the curve of her cheek. She looked like she was smiling.

“I had equipment to check in, and by the time that was done, the general was in his office and knew I had returned, so he wanted my first impressions. Then I freshened up and came here.” She shrugged, shifting against him deliciously. “He gave me coffee, though. Generals run on coffee.”

So did kings, but that wasn’t what Angulus wanted to discuss.

“And you chose seeing me over sleep?”

She turned her face up to him and opened her eyes, the bright light in the room making them a light, clear brown. A sultry smile creased the corners of them. Tension reappeared in his body, rather lower than his shoulders.

“I was hoping that if I enticed you with my wiles, you would let me sleep in that gigantic bed of yours all afternoon.” She cupped the side of his face and ran her thumb along his bottom lip, her own lips parted. “And then hopefully tonight. If you’re not busy.”

He sighed regretfully, lifting his eyes from her mouth. “I have meetings in the late afternoon and a dinner with business owners in the capital this evening.”

“After that?” 

Her smile hadn’t flagged, and his appreciation for her grew. He turned his head and kissed her palm, grateful that she never seemed upset by the demands his role as king placed on him.

“Free until morning,” he said.

“Perfect. But let’s make the time we have now worth it, shall we?”

She rose up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his, not shy in the least. He loved how assertive she was, and never worried that she might be here only because of who he was. Given how little regard she seemed to have for propriety, he supposed he shouldn’t assume that she’d agree to anything just because he was king, but it was something that he had worried about in the past. The other thing he had worried about, that women might fake being attracted to him because of his status, had never been a concern with Kaika. She was an enthusiastic, responsive lover. Passionate, honest, discreet… well, discreet in her own way. Trustworthy, without a doubt.

He stopped listing her virtues and concentrated on them instead, correcting memories that had grown dim in her absence. The plumpness of her full lower lip he addressed considerable attention to, grazing his teeth over it for the way he knew she would respond, taking it as a dare. Her hand came up to thread through his hair, and he shuddered at the prick of her nails on his scalp as she made him hold still and let her remember him. Some mischievous part of her led her to do a thing with her tongue that, combined with the way she was massaging his scalp and the soft press of her breasts against his chest, had him go from half erect to achingly hard.

His hand dropped from her waist to her backside, and he pulled her flush against him. She made a pleased sound and brushed her lips lightly across his, filling him with the need to be horizontal with her as soon as possible. Or vertical, so long as there was a wall behind one of them. Or… a desk?

Yes, a desk. It was the only possibility, now that the couch had been removed. He did not like the idea of thinking of affairs of state until he had composed himself enough to make the trek past his guards to his private rooms. That could fill the entire hour, and there were much better ways to spend that time. Not that he had ever made love to a woman in any way that involved a desk, but he thought they could figure it out. If they didn’t, the carpet was an expensive one. Plush pile had to count for something, didn’t it?

Decision made, he took a step back and before she could protest, he scooped her up into his arms. She laughed. 

“I love it when you do that,” she exclaimed.

“I’ve gathered that impression,” he said as he carried her to his desk chair. “I missed you.”

“I was gone for three solid weeks. I missed you.” She looped her arm around his shoulders. “Parts of me more than others. My right hand is _tired._ ”

The breath Angulus was taking managed to go down the wrong way, and he concentrated on not choking or dropping her. They landed a bit harder in the chair than he intended, and he clutched her more tightly so that she would not bounce onto the floor.

“I won’t ask which one of your hands is tired,” she said as she wiggled into a more comfortable position in his lap.

“Diplomatic.”

“I am always diplomatic.” Her hand landed on his trouser front, and she stroked him through the fabric while nibbling on his ear. He had not thought it possible after that kiss, but more blood rushed south, and he turned his head so he could kiss her. Her lips were as eager as ever, and he couldn’t resist spreading his hand across her thigh and caressing the smooth curve of muscle there. Almost of its own volition, his thumb found the fly of her trousers and skimmed down it, pressing on the seam that ran between her legs.

She gasped—gods, he loved getting that sound out of her—but widened her legs so he could touch more of her. Her trousers rather interfered with what he wanted to be doing, but he kept up the pressure, feeling the heat of her through the heavy fabric, knowing she was wet beneath it, imagining the slick feel of her against his hand, against his mouth…

“Angulus!” She lifted her mouth away and rested her forehead against his, looking him in the eyes. Hers were amused and soft, pupils wide. “You really missed me.”

“Very much. And I would like to hear about your mission. Later. At lunch.” His voice was rough, and he paused to swallow. “At this rate, I think the odds of us lasting an entire hour are very small.”

“Better take this off, then.” She tugged on the lapel of his vest and stood up. She winked. “Or just your trousers. I don’t know how much of a hurry you’re in.”

Did that mean he should take off his trousers? Or that he should wink back and unbutton his vest and shirt slowly like she was doing her uniform jacket? She had leaned back against the desk, so she was still within reaching distance, and he could grab her… He spent too long worrying over it, and the moment passed, so he started on his vest buttons.

By the time he had gotten the vest off and undone his tie and the first few buttons on his shirt, Kaika had flung her jacket in the direction of the folder and scooted back to prop her boot on the edge of the desk to undo the laces. It looked awkward, so he picked up her other foot and set it on his knee.

“Do you ever wear dresses?” he asked as he worked on her bootlaces.

“Not usually. Why?”

“I’m thinking of ease of access.”

“Oh.” She laughed, a full, reckless sound that somehow made his trousers feel even tighter. “I could probably scrounge one up for tonight, if you’re that eager for easy access. Though one of your shirts would probably do just as well.”

His mind skittered to a stop at the thought of Kaika in one his shirts, too big for her, but too short to be considered a dress. And definitely not buttoned up all the way—

The boot he had pulled off fell from his fingers as he looked up at her, sitting mostly undressed on the edge of his desk. Papers that fascinating never crossed it, and now he wouldn’t be able to do any work without thinking of her with her mouth rosy and swollen from their kisses and her nipples showing hard through the cotton of her undershirt.

Having to know the effect she had on him, she tugged the undershirt out of the waistband of her trousers, pulled it over her head, and tossed it away. His mouth went dry. Her skin was gold and cream in the early afternoon sun, darker on her arms and her throat, and then paler where the sun didn’t usually touch. Darkest of all, he could see the outline of her nipples through the practical white cotton of her underbodice—silk and lace had never so moved him.

He surged to his feet and stepped between her legs, grabbing her by the hips to haul her to the edge of the desk. “Whoa,” she blurted, but then his mouth was on hers and she was too busy to say anything else. 

The narrow ribbon holding the top of her underbodice closed gave away after a single tug, and the buttons underneath it came undone just as easily. It had been washed dozens of times, the fabric worn soft, but not nearly as soft as the skin underneath it. A wonder that she had skin so soft as this, but she did, and it invited his touch. He swept his tongue down her throat, leaving her to suck in breaths above him. 

Sweat dappled her skin, making it taste faintly of salt, and the smell of spices filled his head as he licked his way to her breasts, bracing himself with one hand behind her. The other slipped between their bodies, working at the buttons on her fly.

He reached her nipple at the same time as he slid his hand inside her trousers and drawers, feeling for the first time the slick heat that showed her longing for him. His fingers slid inside easily, and he suckled her breast at the same time, wanting the pleasure of his touch to be magnified.

Kaika bucked into his hand. He slid his thumb upward, searching for the swollen spot that would make her cry out. A breath hissed between her teeth, and her hand came up to clench his upper arm. Her other slid across the surface of the desk, skating across piles of papers and colliding with the stack of documents he had been reading earlier. They flew everywhere, littering the floor with no semblance of their previous order.

“Were those important?” she asked.

He lifted his head from her breast.

“Absolutely not,” he rasped and renewed the pressure of his thumb, making her moan and rock into his hand again. He could feel her tightening around his fingers, exquisitely hot flesh wanting release, and he watched her face, needing to catch the moment when it came. He’d have to wait for his own release after it happened, wait for her to be ready, but it would be worth it to see her face contort with pleasure and then have her collapse against him. He had waited three weeks for this moment; he could wait minutes longer for his own. Her lips parted, her eyelids lowered, she was close—

To his disappointment, she clutched his wrist, stilling the movement.

“Stop.” She swallowed and shifted her hand to his belt buckle, working her finger beneath the leather. She undid it with hands that tremored, then the buttons below it as she spoke. “I spent too long thinking about you while I was stuck in Provalia to let you… be a gentleman now.”

There wasn’t anything particularly gentlemanly about having sex with a woman on one’s desk instead of in a bed, or even on something so sedate as a couch, but Angulus did not mention this as he skimmed her trousers and drawers down her legs. Kaika shoved down his trousers and undershorts, and he didn’t try to step out of them—he was still wearing his _shoes_ —before she grasped his stiff cock, drawing him toward her.

He throbbed in her hand, the sensation of her callouses a shocking contrast to the softness the rest of her, making it difficult not to explode right that instant. His fingers felt clumsy as they fumbled at her hips, trying to find a way for them to come together gracefully. He bent his knees, and Kaika rolled her hips up, guiding him into her with her hand.

“Gods, woman,” he breathed, sinking into her, straining to be attentive to her, when all his body wanted to do was drive into her over and over again, until both of them forgot they had ever been apart.

She laughed breathlessly, triumphantly, her arms tightening around his back, until he moved and it turned into a throaty sound. He repeated the motion, finding the angle that made her moan again, and didn’t rush, wanting her to find fulfillment before him, but Kaika had different ideas.

“Don’t be shy.” She squeezed his ass and drew him closer, even as he shuddered at the hot press of her body around him. She turned her head and nipped at his ear, her next words rushing into his ear and making the little hairs on his neck stand on end. “I’m close.”

Whatever tenuous thread that had restrained him snapped, and he let the hungry muscles of his body take over, slamming into her, digging his fingers into her hips, and not caring that everything on the desk rattled and moved. The coffeepot and silver tray clattered against each other, and the delicate china of his cup and saucer rang musically, a chiming counterpoint to the violence of his thrusts.

Too soon, before she had found her own release, he felt the full pleasure of his own tightening his body, summoned into him by the hot, rhythmic brush of her breath against his skin, the trembling of her thighs against the outside of his own, the little pleading noises that made him both want to speed up and drag out the experience. 

Her hand crept between them, and she touched herself where their bodies joined, her fingers brushing the base of his cock, as well. That proved his undoing, and even as he felt her tense and arch against him, and she buried a cry in his shoulder, he thrust deeply into her, gripping her hips so tightly he felt bone.

They collapsed together onto the desktop, Angulus’s legs no longer capable of supporting him. Kaika’s chest rose and fell rapidly beneath his, and her arms loosened only slightly around him. He could feel her heart slamming inside her chest, and she gave a delicious, tired shudder when he shifted slightly.

He ought to feel ashamed for coming off so quickly, like some untried boy in his first encounter with a woman, letting her take care of herself, but Kaika was limp and satiated under him. On his desk, with an array of interesting knickknacks under her. 

Chagrined at that, he eased up and then helped her sit up, as well. Bright red color stained her cheeks, and her hair was in utter disarray, but she did not look bothered at all to be sitting on his desk wearing nothing but a pair of socks and with an unbuttoned underbodice hanging from her shoulders. She gave him a smile, as triumphant as her earlier laughter, and drew the edges of the bodice together, doing up the buttons.

Angulus pulled up his shorts and trousers, feeling not quite so composed. A portion of smugness mingled with that discomposure, and he could not deny that his body was quite pleased with the outcome. His muscles felt almost too relaxed to move as he bent to pick up Kaika’s drawers and handed them to her.

“Thank you,” she said, that smile still in place as she slid them on.

He felt himself returning it, and once it was there, it refused to leave. He lifted an arm toward her, and she leaned against him.

“I have never done that before,” he said.

Kaika snorted. “I know for a fact we have done that before. Many times.”

“I mean—” he gestured toward the ruin of his desk, papers and trinkets scattered on the floor around it “—no bed, not even a cushion… I am sorry if I was too rough or…” He trailed off, out of words, and caressed her hip where he had clutched her so tightly.

“Hardly too rough, but you can kiss anything you think needs attention later.” She kissed him on the neck. “I promise you that I had never had sex on the king’s desk before this either.”

That provoked a snort out of him. “I think I would have remembered that, even if I was not involved directly.”

“Yes, you would have,” she murmured, then kissed him again. “We surpassed the couch.”

He lowered his face to her hair again, breathing in again the scent of cinnamon, this time overlaid with traces of sweat and his own cologne. The mix was somehow headier than her scent alone. Yes, they had surpassed the couch.

“I will have to get a new desk.”

“Maybe even a new office,” she said.


End file.
